The Commerce Ministry has requested the Chinese authorities purchase Thai cassava products and has encouraged Thai feed millers to boost their demand for cassava during the peak harvest season.
As cassava prices are decreasing, Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan assigned the Internal Trade Department and the Foreign Trade Department to act promptly to help farmers. This includes coordinating with Chinese authorities to purchase tapioca products, such as tapioca chips, during the peak harvest season.
The Internal Trade Department will hold discussions with four cassava associations, animal feed producers and pig farmers concerning measures aimed at absorbing surplus cassava within the country.
The goal is to push for increased domestic use of tapioca chips in the animal feed industry, with a target of at least 500,000 tonnes.
Initially, Mr Pichai said the Thai Feed Mill Association agreed to purchase tapioca chips from the farmers.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Trade Department is actively expanding export markets for cassava, targeting potential markets such as Mexico, Chile, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Efforts are also being made to develop new cassava-based products to increase export value. Commercial attaches have been instructed to identify new markets, focusing on opening opportunities for Thai cassava products.
The ministry will collaborate with the private sector to organise cassava market expansion activities. During Jan 5–9, 2025, delegates from the government and private sector will visit Shanghai and Chengdu in China to promote Thai cassava products across various downstream industries.
This initiative aims to generate demand for over 1 million tonnes of cassava before Chinese New Year.
Additionally, efforts will focus on introducing cassava to new industries in China, such as animal feed, adhesives, paper, sweeteners and citric acid production, beyond its traditional uses.
The Internal Trade Department plans to request a budget this week from mutual funds for assisting farmers. The budget would be used for the 2024/25 tapioca harvesting delay programme, encouraging farmers to postpone their harvest during the peak market influx.
The initiative also includes leveraging loans from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, with the government subsidising part of the interest.
Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, reported that from January to October 2024, the value of cassava product exports reached US$2.68 billion, a 17.4% drop year-on-year.
The decline was mainly attributed to a drop in exports of tapioca chips.
Currently, Thailand is the world's third-largest cassava producer, following Nigeria and Congo, and it is the largest global exporter of cassava products. Its primary export market is China.
